Yesterday, Defence Minister Nirmala Sitharaman finally approved the list of items that will now have to be purchased by each soldier from the clothing allowance now sanctioned, they said.

All other clothing items, including combat dress, physical fitness training kit as also the newly-introduced improved physical training (PT) shoes, will continue to be issued to all soldiers from the military stores as authorised items, the sources said.

Recruits will also continue to get additional dresses during recruitment training as before.

The items which will be supplied to the soldiers from military stores also include blankets, ground sheets, raincoats, mosquito nets etc.

Special clothing items that are authorised to soldiers when deployed at Siachen, super high-altitude and extreme cold climate areas will be issued as per present procedures, the sources said.

"Dress allowance caters to meet the long-due aspiration of soldiers who wanted well-stitched and well-fitted uniforms," said an Army official.

The Seventh Pay Commission had recommended the clothing allowance based on the feedback from soldiers regarding quality and inappropriate fitting of dresses provided to them.

It was, hence, decided that provision of dress material and allowing soldiers to get it stitched as per their individual fitment would be a better option, the sources said.

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